A US F-18 from the USS George H.W. Bush just scored America’s first air-to-air kill since 1999

A US F/A-18 took off from the USS George H. W. Bush in the Mediterranean on Sunday and shot down a Syrian Su-22 that reportedly dropped bombs near US-backed forces, scoring the first American air-to-air kill in decades.

The F/A-18, the ubiquitous fighter aircraft aboard all US aircraft carriers, has seen its combat role shift almost solely to air-to-ground, with the USS Harry Truman breaking the all-time record for bombs dropped: 1,118 in 2016.

However, pilots aboard the Bush could see more air-to-air.

On Monday, Russia announced that it would treat all US and US-led-coalition jets west of the Euphrates River in Syria as targets for its air force. Russia has a few dozen fighter and bomber jets stationed in Syria, while the US has a carrier wing aboard the Bush and a few other squadrons at nearby Udeid and Incirlik air bases.